GTA Online: Rockstar Halves Repeat Mission Payouts

One of the main issues that many massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) must confront is balance. Even the best testing often results in an online game that requires tweaking and changes after release. Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Online is no exception.

Rockstar has been dealing with player versus player (PVP) and other balance issues since GTA Online was launched. The latest issue to receive the attention of developers is mission payouts.

Reduced Mission Payouts

Many players who enjoy online multiplayer gaming want to level up and gain money as quickly as possible. Missions in GTA Online that pay well for the shortest amount of work become popular. Players run these missions repeatedly to build a nice bank account. Rockstar has now reduced the payout for running a mission a second time by half. This applies to all missions. Players must now seek out new missions whenever possible in order to get the maximum rewards.

Reasoning for the Change

The main reason that Rockstar has given for the change is to increase game balance. The reduction in repeat mission payouts is just another step in a long line of changes that addresses how much money a player can earn.

Another reason Rockstar has given is that there are currently some exploitable bugs in GTA Online that are allowing players to gain cash and rank points (RP) in ways that were not originally intended. A final reason for halving the payouts is that the in-game economy could potentially become unbalanced if too many players have access to too much cash.

Grinding and Gameplay

Grinding is a part of every online multiplayer game. Players in GTA Online are perfectly willing to grind the right missions to get money and RP. Halving repeat mission payouts will mean players must now grind twice as much to reap the same rewards.

Constantly seeking out new missions can become a grind as well. Although players might not be happy with the change, halving the mission payouts is nothing new in online gaming. Many other MMOGs have done the same thing after realizing how much money a determined group of players can make in a short amount of time.

Lower Costs in Los Santos

Rockstar is making some other changes to the economy in GTA Online that will make the reduced payouts more tolerable. The death penalty for players has been reduced by 75 percent. Other changes are planned that could bring down the cost of living in Los Santos. Players will likely adapt to the reduced repeat mission payouts by grinding some of the easier missions much faster.